Battle of Antietam breaks out | September 17, 1862 | HISTORY (2024)

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What was the Battle of Antietam on September 17 1862? ›

The Battle of Antietam (/ænˈtiːtəm/ an-TEE-təm), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union Major General George B. McClellan's Army of ...

Most importantly, Union victory at Antietam provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity he had wanted to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, making the Battle of Antietam one of the key turning points of the American Civil War.

Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation.

Antietam. On September 17, 1862, one of the first major battles on Northern soil took place near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single-day encounter in American history with over 23,000 casualties.

Antietam enabled the Union to repel the first Confederate invasion of the North. A tide of momentum swept Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia—fresh from a successful summer campaign and victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run—onto Union soil for the first time on September 3, 1862.

Battle of Antietam, (September 17, 1862), in the American Civil War (1861–65), a decisive engagement that halted the Confederate invasion of Maryland, an advance that was regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. The Union name for the battle is derived from Antietam Creek, which flows ...

The Most Deadly Battle In History: Stalingrad

The figures for the Battle of Stalingrad battle are shocking even by the standards of the other campaigns on this list. Running from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943, Stalingrad led to 633,000 battle deaths.

The battle, known as both the Battle of Antietam (by the Union after the nearby creek) and the Battle of Sharpsburg (by the Confederates after the nearest town or railroad junction), would lead to combined cumulative casualty rates for both sides of over 22,000 and be seen as the bloodiest battle not only of the Civil ...

The single bloodiest day of battle in American history occurred near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. Robert E. Lee attempted to invade the North with a 50,000-man Confederate army that was intercepted at Antietam Creek by 70,000 Union troops under the command of George McClellan.

Why was Antietam so deadly? Advanced technology, unwise tactics, and terrible decision-making. The combination of new rifles that could be shot with great accuracy from far away and old-fashioned battle lines led to unprecedented deaths in the Battle of Antietam (and in the Civil War in general).

What was the worst Battle of the Civil War? ›

At Gettysburg, in 1863, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War ended the Confederate army's northward advance.

September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Learn more about the U.S. Constitution through our public programs, family activities, and online resources.

There were several notable mistakes made in the Battle of Antietam. On the Confederate side, the most egregious error was allowing the Union forces to find out their strategy. A Confederate officer had carelessly thrown away the cigar paper on which Lee's plans for a Northern invasion were detailed.

The name – Antietam – is thought to be derived from an Algonquian phrase meaning “swift water.” Today Antietam Creek is known for the carnage and bloodshed that erupted near its shores on September 17, 1862, but before that, it was an ordinary stream winding its way through an ordinary town filled with ordinary ...

Military historians consider the Battle of Antietam a stalemate. Even so, the Union claimed victory. And keeping Confederates in their southern box enabled President Lincoln to finally release his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.

The Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest single day in American history. The battle left 23,000 men killed or wounded in the fields, woods and dirt roads, and it changed the course of the Civil War.

On September 17, 1862, the Union won a relative military victory in Washington County, Maryland, near the small town of Sharpsburg.

The bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place on September 17, 1862, on Antietam Creek near the small town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Four hours of intense fighting took place on an old sunken road that separated two farms.